PEANUTS. 463 



Showery weather, though it may somewhat delay the curing, does no injury. One of 

 the advantages of shallow culture becomes apparent in harvesting. When the fruit is depos 

 ited only a few inches below the surface, the vine is detached from its position with little or 

 no loss; when the depth is greater, the stems are liable to be broken off. In shocking, pro 

 vide stakes seven feet long, made sharp at both ends; then lay two fence-rails on the ground 

 as a foundation, but with supports underneath to afford free access to the air. The stakes 

 are stuck in the ground at convenient intervals between the rails, the stacks built up around 

 them and finished off by a cap of straw to shed the rain. The diameter of the stack is made 

 to conform to the spread of a single vine. After remaining about two weeks in the stack, 

 the picking should be begun, taking off none but the matured pods. These are to be carried 

 to the barn, and prepared for market by finishing the drying process and then fanning and 

 cleaning. The most tedious part of the work is the picking. 



An expert discriminates at a glance between the mature and immature pods, but cannot 

 pick more than two and a half or three bushels per day. A machine to perform the operation 

 would be a most valuable invention. Unless the management in the barn is carefully con 

 ducted, there is great danger where there is much of a bulk that the peas will become heated 

 and mouldy. The condition m which the early deliveries are often received at market renders 

 this caution quite necessary. In fact, there is as much slovenliness in the handling of this 

 crop as there is in regard to any other, perhaps more, for the reason that so many inexperi 

 enced persons engage in the culture every year. Until the pods are thoroughly seasoned, the 

 bulk should be frequently stirred and turned over. A certain classification in respect to 

 quality is as applicable to peanuts as any other agricultural product. The descriptive terms 

 in general use are &quot;fancy,&quot; &quot;prime,&quot; &quot;ordinary,&quot; &quot;inferior&quot;; but these are not so definite as 

 to admit of no intermediate grades. Assuming prime to be the standard, and that the prime 

 are two dollars and seventy-five cents per bushel, then the inferior would be worth a dollar or a 

 dollar and a half, the ordinary two dollars or two dollars and a half, and the fancy three dollars. 



There are two very distinct varieties of peanuts, known respectively by the names of 

 Virginia and the Carolina or African. The diversity between them, however, does not 

 amount to a specific difference, the chief characteristic being that the one has a large pod and 

 bean, and the other a small one. The Virginia is cultivated almost exclusively for eating, 

 while the Carolina is principally used for the manufacture of oil, which cannot be distin 

 guished from olive oil, and is accordingly sold as such. 



After the crop has been harvested, the swine should be turned on to the ground and 

 allowed to at what remain in the soil. Some planters prefer flat culture, but the ridge 

 method is generally regarded as the best. 



Preparing for Market. Assorting and preparing this crop for market is often done 

 in establishments for this purpose, as follows: The peanuts are placed in a large cylinder, from 

 which they enter another with revolving brushes, where each nut receives fifteen feet of a 

 brushing before it becomes free. Then they are dropped on an endless belt passing along at 

 the rate of four miles an hour. On each side of this belt are stationed girls whose duty is to 

 pick out, with a quick motion of the hand, all the inferior-looking nuts, allowing only the best 

 to pass the crucible, those that do pass dropping into bags placed for their reception. As 

 fast as the bags are filled, they are sewed up and branded as first quality. Those that are 

 selected out from these are again assorted and the best of them branded as second quality. 

 These are generally as good in quality as the first, but do not compare with them in shape 

 and color. 



Those that remain are again assorted, and constitute the third grade, and so on. The 

 last that remain from the various cullings are shelled by a machine for the purpose, and win 

 nowed, after which they are bagged and supplied to confectioners for the purpose of making 

 taffy, or peanut candy. Even the shells are utilized, as they furnish excellent bedding for 

 horses. 



